Enough
by cavlik97
Summary: They say you don't know how much someone means to you until they're gone. Luckily, Beckett didn't have to go through that again. My take on how Beckett reacts to Castle's injury in Headhunters. Fluff and cuteness.


**A/N: I thought I was going to write a continuing one-shot to Different Types of Silence but I decided against it and I'm instead writing a separate one-shot but it's still the hospital scene where Beckett storms in after finding out Castle is injured(: I seriously cannot wait for this scene in the actual episode. This is a longer one shot than I usually do but it kind of took a life of its own. :b By the way ~ I know a few of you hated the fact that Rick was in bed with Jacinda (euuugh, I hated it too) but I thought that even though Rick still loves Kate, if we recall correctly, he was a massive playboy and I think, unfortunately, sex just comes with territory. :/ Sorry. BUT ANYWAY. Here is the story:**

**DISCLAIMER: No, I do not own Castle. Even though, one day, I, like many others would like to write scripts for shows just as amazing, at the moment Castle belongs to Marlowe. Otherwise I would be planning Caskett's "moment" with Stana.**

'_Slaughter_!' Beckett all but screamed as she stormed into the hospital waiting room. She ignored Alexis, who was sitting on a chair, eyes red, face tear-stained. Beckett tried to pretend that Martha's teary eyes were not fixed on her. Although Ryan and Esposito were rushing after her to try and stop any rash actions, Beckett pushed them back, grabbed Slaughter by his jacket collar and slammed him into the wall. The male detective winced at the impact.

'What the _hell _happened, Slaughter?' Beckett demanded, her green eyes burning with rage as she tried to stop tears falling down her cheeks. 'You were acting as his partner! You were supposed to have his back!'

'He's fine,' said Slaughter so casually, it made Beckett's anger flare even more. 'Calm down, Detective Beckett.'

'You do _not _get to tell me that!' growled Beckett. 'Now I'm going to ask you once more. What happened?'

'We were on a raid and he was stabbed in an alleyway. Just a shallow knife wound, nothing to worry about. Calm down.'

But Beckett heard nothing after _stabbed in an alleyway. _Almost immediately, she was transported back to her father's apartment, both of them hearing Detective Raglan say those _exact _words. She could feel her father shaking with silent sobs beside her and though overwhelming grief was slowly filling her, she had no tears to shed.

'Beckett.'

'Beckett.'

'Kate...'

'Look, Detective Beckett – Castle's gonna be fine. He'll walk out of here in a day or so. And seeing as he's unable to tell you, I'm just going to give you the heads up. Don't plan on calling him your partner for much longer.'

'_What_?' Esposito gasped, his jaw dropping. That did it. Beckett swung her right fist back and then straight into Slaughter's face. He gave a loud grunt as he toppled to the ground.

'Don't tell me that he's going to be okay,' Beckett hissed, 'because the last time somebody that I loved was stabbed in an alleyway, I never saw them alive ever again. So you know what Detective Slaughter? Screw you.' Beckett spat in his direction, unaware that she was crying until Esposito pulled her away and into a more privatised part of the hospital waiting room area.

'You don't think he's really leaving?' she whispered as Esposito gave her a gentle hug. He shook his head. 'No,' he said firmly. 'He wouldn't. Not without telling us. I know he's been an ass lately but he's still the Rick Castle who's a part of our team.'

'Hey,' Ryan said softly, appearing beside them. He gave Beckett a small smile. 'Martha wants to talk to you.'

'Oh crap,' Beckett swore, hanging her head.

'Kate,' smiled Martha, leaning against the wall. Esposito and Ryan both gave Beckett their respective _looks _that meant _we're here if you need us _before leaving Martha and Beckett alone in the corridor. Beckett was doing her best to avoid the older woman's eyes...feeling that somehow, Castle's mother knew what had caused him to give his partner the cold shoulder...and whatever it was – it couldn't be good on Beckett's part.

'How is he?' Beckett asked quietly. Martha shrugged. 'He'll be okay. Kate...I saw your face when Slaughter told you what happened. Are you alright?'

Beckett swallowed back the urge to burst into tears. 'Yes, I'm fine. Martha, whatever Rick's angry at me for...I am _so _sorry...'

Martha hesitated, glancing at the ward were Castle was being treated before speaking to Beckett. 'He knows that you remember the shooting, Kate.'

Beckett's eyes widened and she felt her legs go limp. She slumped against the wall, pushing her hair roughly away from her face. 'The bomb case, right? That's when it started.'

Martha nodded.

'When...how could he have...? I didn't...?' Then – it clicked. The interrogation. Bobby Lopez. The abandoned coffee on her desk. Esposito saying that Castle had been in just a moment ago. His sudden disappearance. He's overheard from behind the mirror...

Oh _God. _

'No...' Beckett whimpered, sliding down the wall and burying her face in her hands. 'And now he wants to cut off our partnership...'

'No he doesn't,' promised Martha. 'He was considering it when he first started working with Slaughter. Told me so. But he misses his old team...trust me when I say that. He was going to come back after this case with Slaughter.'

Beckett glanced up, meeting the actress's eyes. 'But why does he hate me so much?' she pressed. Martha chuckled quietly. 'He's blind. He thinks that you lied because you don't love him. Because you were too embarrassed to tell him so.'

'Is he _insane_?' croaked Beckett. 'The...the only reason I kept it from him was because I was scared! He said while I was _dying_! Only God knows what people say when someone they care about is dying!'

'Tell him that,' encouraged Martha.

'I've tried,' admitted Beckett. 'When he was going to the Hamptons... I was about to tell him after I broke up with Demming but then Gina showed up...'

'Oh, Kate,' sighed Martha sympathetically, reaching out and clasping Beckett's hand.

'And then when we were locked in the freezer,' continued Beckett, her voice trembling. 'I passed out before I could tell him. We were rescued and...Josh had come back... things were in a massive confusing mess...'

'I gather it felt the same after you woke up from the shooting?' guessed Martha. Beckett nodded, relieved she understood. 'Roy was dead, someone had just tried to kill me, I was still with Josh, Castle had _finally _said it...but I didn't know how to process what he'd told me...lying just seemed to be the best alternative at the time.'

'Guys!' Alexis exclaimed breathlessly, sprinting round the corner. 'He's a...awake...!' Beckett and Martha both scrambled to their feet, hurrying after Alexis into the main area of the waiting room.

'Well?' Martha asked expectantly. The nurse glanced down at her clipboard. 'Well, it was luckily a shallow wound. It should heal in the next couple of weeks – a month at the most. But he needs to rest. Of course, he can assist on police cases but he cannot go out on the field.'

'Understood,' Beckett said with a nod. 'Otherwise?'

'He'll be fine,' the nurse promised. 'You can go see him. He's awake.'

Alexis pushed past everyone, bursting into the ward and throwing her arms around her father, Martha following quickly afterwards. Ryan, Beckett and Esposito hesitated, glancing at each other reluctantly. They knew that Castle had left their team and were uncertain whether to see him. But he glanced over from his hospital bed and gave them that familiar, joking grin, his blue eyes twinkling. Ryan laughed first, surprising the other two and the young, Irish detective grabbed his teammates and pulled them towards the ward.

'Hey bro,' said Esposito. 'How you feeling?'

'Sore,' pouted Castle. 'But this gives me a good opportunity to finish _Frozen Heat._'

'Otherwise Gina's gonna have your head,' reminded Alexis. Castle shuddered...and winced. He reached out to the side table and took a gulp of the coffee...before spitting it back into the cup. 'Euuugh! This is the worst coffee I've ever tasted and that includes the atrocity you had at the precinct before my espresso machine!'

Beckett couldn't resist a smirk.

'There's a coffee shop down the road,' said Ryan with a laugh. 'Me 'n Espo need to grab something to eat anyway. We'll go grab a coffee.'

'Can you grab me one, too?' requested Beckett.

'No problem,' complied Esposito. 'We'll be back soon.' They exited the room swiftly, disappearing out the double doors.

'Come on, Alexis,' said Martha...oh very discreetly. 'We should probably grab his painkillers before he charms the nurse into setting them aside.'

Alexis saw right through the excuse and shot Beckett a smile before the two Castle women also left the room...leaving the writer and his muse alone.

'I heard your little hissy fit against Slaughter,' teased Castle and Beckett groaned, blushing slightly. Castle's face softened. 'I was hoping that I could be the one to tell you what had happened,' he said. 'I knew that...it would bring back unwanted memories.'

'It did,' confessed Beckett. 'But Espo got me under control.'

'You still punched Slaughter,' Castle pointed out.

'He deserved it. He's an ass.'

'I won't deny that.' There was a small silence for a moment. 'Kate,' Castle said slowly. 'You said...' He swallowed. 'You said "the last time someone you _loved_"...'

Beckett knew what he was getting at. It had been a slip but also the truth. She let out a heavy sigh. 'Your mother told me why you're so angry at me...'

'I figured she would,' said Castle. 'Kate – after today...tell me I got it wrong...?'

'You did. Entirely.' Beckett laughed tearily. 'I didn't tell you because I was terrified. Scared of how much I loved you. Scared that you didn't mean it. More than anything, I was petrified that I was going to screw things up.'

'Mother told me just before that...you'd tried to tell me before?' edged Castle, his voice bordering on incredulous. Beckett nodded. 'I was going to offer to go to the Hamptons with you.'

He swore. Colourfully. And angrily.

'...and I was going to tell you before I passed out in the freezer...'

Another long string of swear words trailed out of Castle's throat until he finally spoke civil language. 'How did you realise?' he asked.

Beckett grinned. 'All the songs made sense.'

Castle's face lit up at her words. Like so many other things (coffee, the word _always_, fairytales...), the sentence that Beckett had uttered had an inside meaning to them.

'Ow...' Castle said suddenly, his hand fisting the sheets when he tried to move.

'Hey, you've just been stabbed...be careful,' ordered Beckett, reaching out pushing Castle back down to the bed. 'We can talk about this later.'

'What's _this_?' asked Castle...obviously needing clarification. Beckett could tell that he didn't want this conversation to be skillfully avoided like they had managed to do so many times over the past four years.

'A discussion on where we go from here,' promised Beckett, stunning Castle senseless when she leaned over at gave him a brief kiss on the lips.

Soon, Ryan and Esposito returned with the coffee and the food, asking for details on the raid. Ryan eagerly asked whether they'd caught the suspects and of course, the guy was now in holding...and now Castle was making a hero story about the attack, causing Beckett to sit there and roll her eyes.

Alexis and Martha also came back and they _did _have painkillers but Alexis's look was very silently demanding.

'So...can I return to _your _team to help with your case?' begged Castle. Esposito and Ryan put on a mocking, thoughtful look, which Castle glared at them for.

'Of course,' said Beckett, narrowing her eyes at the other two male partners. Ryan was evidently trying to smother his laughter.

'_Yus_!' Castle cheered, punching the air with his fist...simply reverting back to the twelve year old that Beckett couldn't help but love.

Two days later, Beckett was sitting on an armchair at Castle's side, her shoes kicked off, legs resting on the edge of Castle's bed. He had his laptop, head cocking, tongue sticking out as he tried to conjure up ideas for the very end of _Frozen Heat. _Meanwhile, Beckett was reading the latest manuscript of the same novel...a pen tapping in her hand as she (and Alexis right beside her) picked out the errors in the work or scribbled down ideas.

'Sup guys,' greeted Ryan as he slipped through the doors. 'Hey Castle. You wanna hear our latest case?'

'Do I even exist?' asked Beckett, mocking hurt. Ryan's sea blue eyes twinkled. 'Shut up,' he said. 'Castle – this one's right up your alley. Local high school was performing _Hamlet _as a dress rehearsal before the actual performance. Then, just as they bring in the stunt double playing the dead Ophelia, when they uncovered the body, it was a real victim who seriously was dead.'

Castle's jaw dropped. 'I...you... _what_? Why are all the good cases showing up when I can't help?'

'You can, bro,' assured Esposito. 'We'll tell you everything about the cases. You can see the photos...and the murder board when you get out of here. You can still concoct wild theories.'

'It's not the same,' Castle muttered sulkily.

'Stop being a six year old and write,' ordered Alexis sharply, causing Castle to poke his tongue out at her and return to his laptop.

'Finished reading,' announced Beckett, handing Castle the manuscript. 'Ask Alexis for harsh critiquing...I got too wrapped up in the story.' She smiled with a small blush. Castle smirked triumphantly. 'Fangirl,' he teased.

'Never address me with that word ever again...' threatened Beckett but Castle could see her eyes filled with amusement.

'We gotta go,' Ryan apologised. 'We've got a lead to run up on. Come on, Espo. We'll see you guys later, huh?'

'I'll drop by the precinct this afternoon,' Beckett informed. 'Later, guys.'

'Alexis, why don't you head over to the morgue?' suggested Castle. 'Aren't you interning today?'

'Trying to get rid of me,' joked Alexis. 'I'm shocked.'

'Just go...' laughed Castle. He turned to Beckett as his daughter left. 'What did you think of _Frozen Heat_?'

'I loved it,' Beckett said, blushing further. Lying in his hospital bed, Castle felt his heart flutter. He was completely in love with the fact that Kate Beckett was a massive fan.

'How do you think I should end it?' asked Castle.

'Oh trust me, I have no idea,' said Beckett truthfully. 'You're the writer.'

'Give me something inspiring to work with!' whined Castle, flopping back into the pillows. Beckett raised one eyebrow.

'That came out wrong.'

'Of course it did.'

'Well, I am up for any suggestions...'

'Castle!'

'What?' He said it innocently, putting on puppy dog eyes like some adorable ten year old boy. Beckett failed in smothering her rising smile and she leaned over, kissing him softly so as not to hurt him.

'That enough inspiration for you?' she murmured against his lips.

'...I guess...it...uh...it will do for now...' stammered Castle, trying to form a proper sentence. Beckett smirked at his reaction. If this was how Richard Castle was rendered speechless, it was a wonder she hadn't done it before.

'Good,' she said in a sexy tone that made Castle's eyes blink rapidly. 'Then get writing.'

His fingers flew across the keyboard and Beckett let a sense of security fill her. They say you don't know how much something (or someone) means to you until they're gone. Beckett had learned that several times...the hard way but now, she had her partner back. Her mother's killer was still out there...but for now, this was more than enough.

**A/N: Well? What did you think? I really wanted a moment with Martha and Kate in there because I think Martha really doesn't believe that Kate doesn't love him back and disapproves of how her son is behaving. **

**I don't know what Frozen Heat will be about...I haven't read the Nikki Heat books (But I will be! Soon! I've reserved them from the library!) On another note...please give me feedback! Review(: It makes my day. **

**Thank you! :D **


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